Place of Skulls
Place of Skulls are a doom metal band from Knoxville, Tennessee. Active since 2000, the band is known for being the main project of guitarist Victor Griffin some time after his departure (at the time) from Pentagram. The musical themes are based heavily in life struggles and Christianity, a reflection of Griffin's conversion as a Born Again Christian in the 1990s. History Place of Skulls was formed in 2000 by Victor Griffin, Tim Tomaselli and Lee Abney, mainly to "pass the torch" of doom metal from bands like Pentagram and Death Row. After recording a series of demos the band would record their debut album with an intent of releasing it on Man's Ruin Records by suggestion of Guy Pinhas to the label. However, Man's Ruin would close in 2001 but Pinhas would suggest the album to Southern Lord Records and thus "Nailed" would be released on the label in 2002. A tour with Spirit Caravan (Notably their last tour until their reunion.) would follow around the same time. Lee Abney would leave the band for personal reasons afterwards. Not long after Scott Weinrich was in talks with the band about a possible collaboration, leading to Wino joining the band to work on the band's second album. Ron Holzner would attempt to join on bass but depart due to living in Chicago, far away from the band at the time so Greg Turley would take his place as bassist in these sessions. With Vision would be released in 2003 and labeled as a veritable doom supergroup: While the four-piece lineup had plans at some point to tour, it ended up not being the case. Due to living in different states (Wino in Washington/Maryland and Griffin in Tennnessee, notably this was also a factor behind Holzner's departure) and clashing religious beliefs, Wino would depart the band to concentrate on The Hidden Hand. The band would continue on with bassist Don Cornelius and drummer Pete CampbellStonerrock.comAccessed March 4, 2016., eventually releasing an EP entitled "Love Through Blood" in 2005 (Outtakes from the Nailed sessions) before disbanding for a short time.Stonerrock.comAccessed March 4, 2016. However the band would reform and release another full-length in "The Black Is Never Far" in 2006. Around this time Pete Campbell would take over on drums for a tour of Europe in 2004 before Tomaselli would return. The band would notably mmainly play handful's of shows in the United States and tour Europe fairly frequently. Dennis Cornelius would depart from the band to move back to Oklahoma with original bassist Lee Abney returning to the band. In 2010, the band would release their fourth album "As A Dog Returns" and follow up with short tours in the United States along with a 2011 European tour, including a date at Roadburn Festival that year.Place of Skulls Official SitePlace of Skulls History, accessed February 27, 2016. Around the same time of releasing "As A Dog Returns", Victor Griffin would rejoin Pentagram from 2010 - 2012 and again in 2014 to this day. Place of Skulls are slated to appear at the 2016 edition of The Maryland Doom Fest along with a short tour that year. The band's discography (Along with In-Graved, now labeled as a Place of Skulls album) was reissued digitally via Stone Groove Records.Place of Skulls BandcampAccessed 4 July 2016 The band still sporadically performs, mainly at church events and the occasional festival such as The Maryland Doom Fest. Members Current Lineup * Victor Griffin - Guitar, Vocals (2000 - Present) * Lee Abney - Bass (2000 - 2002, 2007 - Present) * Tim Tomaselli - Drums (2000 - 2004, 2005 - 2011, 2014 - Present) Past Members * Greg Turley - Bass (2002) * Ron Holzner - Bass (2002) * Dennis Cornelius - Bass, Vocals (2002 - 2007) * Scott Weinrich - Guitar, Vocals (2003) * Pete Campbell - Drums (2004, 2011 - 2014) Discography Albums * Nailed (2002, Southern Lord Records) * With Vision (2003, Southern Lord Records) * The Black Is Never Far (2006, Exile on Mainstream) * As A Dog Returns (2010, Volcom Entertainment) * Victor Griffin's In-Graved (2013, Svart) EPs / Singles * The Fall / Evil Seed (2002, Southern Lord Records) * Love Through Blood (2005, Outlaw Recordings) Live Albums * Place of Skulls Live! (2000, Man's Ruin Records) * Death Row Reunion 2000 (With Death Row, Internal Void, Black Manta and Throttlerod) (2001, Doom Capital Productions) Tours * 2001 - USA Tour 2001 * 2002 - Caravan of Skulls (With Spirit Caravan) * 2004 - January USA Tour 2004 (With Life Beyond) * 2004 - Spring USA Tour 2004 (With Khanate, Graves At Sea and YOB depending on dates.) * 2004 - Summer USA Tour 2004 (With Pale Divine) * 2004 - European Tour 2004 (With Alix) * 2005 - European Tour 2005 (With Pale Divine and Rising Dust) * 2006 - European Tour 2006 (With End of Level Boss)Place of Skulls Page accessed February 27, 2016. * 2010 - European Tour 2010 (With Eternal Elysium)Place of Skulls Page via Wayback Archive accessed February 27, 2016. * 2011 - European Tour 2011 (With The Gates of Slumber)Place of Skulls Page via Wayback Archive accessed February 27, 2016. * 2016 - USA Tour 2016 Links *Official Website *Facebook *BandCamp *Archived StonerRock.com article. *Archived Stonerrock.com article. References Category:Band Category:Doom Metal Category:Knoxville Category:Tennessee Category:USA Category:Victor Griffin Category:Christian Rock